With the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony just a day away, the stage is set for what should be a deep and competitive beach volleyball field.

While both the men's and women's tournaments feature defending Olympic champions who are likely to reach the podium again, there are also countries primed for a breakout at the Paris Games.

Here is a preview of beach volleyball ahead of the 2024 Games, breaking down top teams, potential breakout contenders, and the biggest storylines to watch in Paris.

The United States and Brazil have been the nations to beat on the women's side, as both have earned a world-record seven medals since the sport's Olympic inception in 1996.

Brazil will look to bounce back in Paris after not earning a medal in both the women's and men's tournaments in Tokyo. 

2022 world champions Duda/Ana Patricia will be the top contenders for gold, while the team of Carol/Barbara will be outside medal contenders for Brazil. Duda/Ana Patricia have won half of the events in which they've participated since June 2023 (seven of 14) and rightfully carry their world No. 1 ranking heading into Paris.

Carol/Barbara have displayed an upper hand on the Americans, beating both of the 2024 U.S. Olympic pairs at an Elite16 FIVB event back in March, but have lost nine of their last 11 matches entering the 2024 Games.

On the other hand, the U.S. looks to continue its dominance, seeking a fifth gold medal in the last seven Olympics. While Tokyo 2020 gold medal winners April Ross/Alix Klineman both gave birth after the Games and were unable to make an Olympic bid, the U.S. has two top-ranked teams that should both make noise in Paris.

Led by pairs of college teammates in Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes (USC) and Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss (LSU), the Americans are undisputed gold medal contenders. Cheng/Hughes won the 2023 World Championships and beat some notable names in the process, including Duda/Ana Patricia in the final, to set up a highly-anticipated rematch at the 2024 Games. 

Cheng/Hughes played at USC from 2014-2017, helping the Trojans win the first two NCAA beach volleyball championships in history. The California natives split ahead of the Tokyo Olympics but are back together and looking to prove they can beat the world's best yet again.

Kloth and Nuss will make history the second they take the court in Paris, as the two will become the first U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team that does not train primarily in California (they mostly train in Baton Rouge, Louisiana). The duo went 36-0 at LSU in route to an NCAA beach volleyball championship in 2021, with 32 of those victories coming in straight sets. They finished third at the 2023 World Championships, losing to eventual winners and U.S. counterparts Cheng/Hughes.

While nations such as Canada and Australia possess great potential entering Paris, the world powerhouses dominate the storylines entering the women's tournament.

The frigid environment in Scandinavia doesn't scream beach volleyball, but two of the sports' emerging powers reside just there.

Defending gold medalists from Norway Anders Mol/Christian Sorum will look to become the first men's team to ever repeat as Olympic beach volleyball champions in Paris. Since 2018, the duo has ran through their competition, also winning the 2022 World Championships and the European Beach Volleyball Championships four years in a row (2018-2021).

But after multiple years of dominance, Mol/Sorum are now slight underdogs to 22-year-old Swedish phenoms David Aahman/Jonatan Hellvig.

The first Swedish beach volleyball team to qualify for the Olympics since 2004, Aahman/Hellvig are the No. 1 team in the world entering the Games after overtaking Mol/Sorum. They won the 2022 European Beach Volleyball Championships, becoming the youngest winners in the event's history, and defended their crown in 2023 ahead of the Paris Games.

Aahman and Hellvig's innovative jump-set strategy has played a big part in making them favorites in Paris, as the two represent the present and future of men's beach volleyball. 

Canada's Melissa Humana-Paredes/Brandie Wilkerson both reached the Tokyo quarterfinals with different partners in 2020 and have the potential to be the biggest thorn in the sides of Brazil and the U.S. After reaching the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Championships and winning an Elite16 event in July, the duo rank No. 3 in the world entering Paris.

Two-time European champions Tanja Hueberli/Nina Brunner — one of the best European teams in years — will look to avenge their Tokyo Round of 16 loss and earn Switzerland its second-ever beach volleyball medal. Hueberli, named Best Blocker at the 2019 World Championships, gives the Swiss team an X factor at the net.

Australians Mariafe Artacho/Taliqua Clancy have shown they are among the world's best after they grabbed a silver medal in Tokyo and a bronze at the 2019 World Championships. While Clancy has struggled with an elbow injury that kept her out of the first two scheduled events of 2024, the duo have the proven experience to make another run in Paris.

The U.S. has two men's teams to keep an eye on with Miles Evans/Chase Budinger and Miles Partain/Andy Benesh. Budinger, a former NBA player who retired from professional basketball after over 400 games, has become one of the major stories of the sport heading into the Games. He'll be joined by UC Santa Barbara product Evans. The two started playing together in 2023 and enter Paris ranked No. 13 in the world and hoping to make noise in their Olympic debut.

Miles Partain (22)/Andy Benesh (29) will become the youngest U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team in history, with Partain set to become the youngest American to ever compete in Olympic beach volleyball. They defeated defending Tokyo gold medalists Mol/Sorum at an Elite16 event in 2023, showing their potential against the world's best.

A deep men's field also features contenders in Ondrej Perusic/David Schweiner of Czechia, who defeated Aahman/Hellvig in the 2023 World Championship final. Germany's Clemens Wickler/Nils Ehlers are among the world's most consistent teams, and while they have yet to win on the FIVB tour, they are outside contenders at the podium.